Roger Pirates' Intelligence!

Roger Pirates' Intelligence!

After a full day of sailing, the warship passed through the Marines' dedicated route, crossed the Red Line, and officially entered the New World.

By nightfall, Garp's warship had docked at an unnamed port somewhere in the New World.

The evening breeze blew as stars glittered across the sky.

Yoriichi lay in a hammock, gazing at the night sky outside through the cabin window. The cabin where he rested was a single room specially arranged by Garp, but today, two people occupied it.

On the bed, Aokiji lay beneath half a blanket, his mouth slightly open as he breathed softly.

Yoriichi did not receive treatment as nice as Aokiji's. He slept in a hammock. In Garp's words, Yoriichi was an outsider, and there was no room reserved for him on the ship, so he could only share a cabin with Aokiji.

Fortunately, Aokiji did not mind. He had even planned to give the bed to Yoriichi, but Yoriichi refused. It was not because Yoriichi was embarrassed; he simply wanted to try sleeping in a ship's hammock.

Well, honestly.

The hammock was quite comfortable.

"Life at sea is pretty interesting."

With that thought in mind, Yoriichi closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.

In his dreams, Yoriichi had a strangely familiar dream.

The ocean, sunshine, a beach, and a small seaside town. The townspeople were simple and kind, living self-sufficient lives. They were not especially rich, but their lives were peaceful and tranquil.

And Yoriichi had become a member of that town as well, living in peace and tranquility.

The next day.

Before Yoriichi had even gotten up, the sound of the anchor being raised flooded into the cabin. Opening his eyes, he saw the faint light of dawn filtering through the window, brightening the dim cabin somewhat.

Turning to look at the bed, Yoriichi found that Aokiji had long since left the cabin. Seeing the neatly folded blanket, Yoriichi got up, jumped down from the hammock, and headed outside.

After a quick wash, Yoriichi arrived at the warship's dining hall. The moment he entered, he heard Aokiji calling out to him.

"Hey! Yoriichi, over here!"

Aokiji, barely in his twenties, still possessed a young man's enthusiasm. At that moment, he was waving at Yoriichi.

After picking up some bread and milk, Yoriichi carried his tray over to Aokiji and plopped down beside him. Aokiji looked at Yoriichi's complexion and asked with a smile,

"How did you sleep?"

"Getting used to it?"

"Any seasickness?"

Aokiji seemed quite concerned for this younger brother he had just met, asking after him warmly.

"Not bad. I'm getting used to it."

"I don't get seasick. On a ship this big, it wouldn't be easy to get seasick anyway."

Yoriichi said with a smile, casually stuffing a piece of bread into his mouth. After taking a gulp of milk, Yoriichi looked around the bustling dining hall and asked,

"Kuzan, I heard we're heading out this time to hunt down the Roger Pirates?"

"Who are these people? What did they do to warrant a pursuit?"

The moment Aokiji heard Roger Pirates, his interest in talking was immediately piqued. After organizing his thoughts for a moment, he said,

"The Roger Pirates! They've done plenty."

"Back in the East Blue, they attacked two Marine Branches, and their captain, Roger, even killed a branch lieutenant."

"Later, while evading Marine pursuit, they traveled through more than a dozen countries, plundering and killing quite a few nobles."

"They became the pirate crew with the highest bounty in the East Blue. Afterward, the Roger Pirates ventured into the New World, defeated many rivals of their era, repeatedly escaped Marine pursuit, and became famous pirates."

"A few years ago, the Roger Pirates returned to the East Blue. We thought they intended to retire while they were ahead, but..."

"Since last year, the Roger Pirates have been frequently traveling back and forth between the New World and the Four Blues."

"And not long ago, for some unknown reason, the Roger Pirates suddenly entered the New World."

"Vice Admiral Garp had been pursuing the Roger Pirates before. Now that news of them has surfaced again, he came after them."

Yoriichi merely nodded slightly after hearing this.

Those crimes did indeed sound utterly heinous: attacking the Marines, plundering nations allied with the World Government, and killing nobles of those allied nations.

Such evil deeds, coupled with their unexplained movements, were certainly enough to draw the Marines' attention.

But it was still not enough.

Those acts alone could not support the Roger Pirates' current "notoriety."

Perhaps there were things even Aokiji did not know.

"Then what about the Roger Pirates' crew? What kind of people are they? How strong are they?"

Yoriichi continued asking. Aokiji had been in the Marines for quite some time, so he should know their crew's current situation fairly well.

"The captain, Gol D. Roger, is a great pirate with a bounty of 2.6 billion."

"As for his strength, he's fought Vice Admiral Garp several times, and every time, he managed to escape."

"He's very strong."

"The Roger Pirates' first mate is Silvers Rayleigh, a great pirate with a bounty of 1.1 billion."

"There's also a samurai from Wano Country named Kozuki Oden. I heard he came over from Whitebeard's ship."

"And there are the Minks, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi."

"Oh! Right, there are two kids on Roger's ship who are about your age!"

At this point, Aokiji suddenly slapped Yoriichi on the shoulder and spoke excitedly.

"About my age?" Yoriichi turned to Aokiji, somewhat puzzled.

"I think one of them is named Shanks, and the other is named Buggy?" Aokiji replied uncertainly, stroking his chin.

"I see. That must be one reason Vice Admiral Garp brought you along!"

As he spoke, understanding dawned on Aokiji's face, and he smiled at Yoriichi.

At that moment, Yoriichi also recalled what Garp had said to Teacher Zephyr before taking him to sea. Yoriichi vaguely remembered Garp mentioning that Roger's ship had two people around his age.

So it was Shanks and Buggy!

Yoriichi had only guessed before and had not been certain. Now that he knew this, he could roughly determine the point in time he was in.

Yoriichi's understanding of the Pirate King world's timeline was rather vague. After joining the Marines, he had deliberately avoided asking about Garp and the others' deeds and ages to avoid drawing attention.

Now that he knew Shanks's age, Yoriichi also knew what major events lay ahead.

Within the next few years, the world would likely undergo tremendous upheaval!

Yoriichi and Aokiji chatted as they ate breakfast. Just as they were preparing to leave for the day's "training," Garp's adjutant, Bogard, stopped them in their tracks with a sword tucked under his arm.

"Lieutenant Colonel Bogard, do you have any orders?"

"Good morning, Lieutenant Colonel Bogard."

Aokiji and Yoriichi greeted Bogard in turn.

"Colonel Kuzan, Vice Admiral Garp has assigned me to instruct Tsugikuni Yoriichi."

"The vice admiral's orders are that Yoriichi no longer needs to continue practicing the Marine Six Styles. He can begin training in Haki."

"From now on, Colonel Kuzan, you will serve as Vice Admiral Garp's adjutant. I will take over the task of instructing Tsugikuni Yoriichi."

Bogard explained to them. Yoriichi's eyes lit up at those words, and he grew somewhat excited. Aokiji nodded as well and said to Yoriichi,

"Then, Yoriichi, I'll go find Vice Admiral Garp first. You follow Lieutenant Colonel Bogard. Haki, huh! I didn't expect you'd get to learn this so soon."

"You'll have to suffer quite a bit training in that stuff."

Aokiji seemed to recall some unpleasant memories and could not help shuddering. Then he waved to Yoriichi and left the dining hall first.

"Yoriichi, come with me. We're going up to the deck."